Tag Archives: Bobcats

Reports say that the New Orleans Hornets will soon be known as the Pelicans. Yeah, you heard it right, they are going from a semi-intimidating name, to the least intimidating name in all of sports. No one is going to want to play here, and no one will want to buy their gear. They are also looking into changing colors to red, gold, and navy blue.

On a related note, Michael Jordan said he would entertain the idea of returning the Hornets name to Charlotte, since it was very popular back in the day. Many people today still wear the old teal and purple Hornets gear. This could be a big brand change for the Bobcats in a big way.

Celtics pull out a relatively easy W over the Bobcats as they win 94-84. Garnett led the team in scoring as he had 22 on 10-15 shooting. Rondo had his second straight night with 14 assists and also put up 10 points. Bobcats shot 45% from the field which was helped by Derrick Brown’s 10-10 night shooting. Jujuan Johnson played only 2 minutes after playing 22 the night before.

But the night was all about Paul Pierce. While he had a relatively poor shooting night by his standards, 6-18 for 15 points, he again led the Celtics +/- ratio with a second straight game of over +26. You could tell Pierce wanted to get it over with, he started out the game well, but missed two open three’s to clinch it. The fans almost willed the first one in, but we had to wait until after halftime for Pierce to go down in the books. He drained hist first shot after halftime to become the Celtics second all-time leading scorer. Rondo assisted on the memorable basket as he ran underneath the hoop and kicked it to an open Pierce for three.

Pierce on what it would mean to catch Havlicek. “Records are great, but it would mean more to me and the fans if we won another championship, so that’s my goal.”

Extra Notes: 12th straight game for Pierce with five or more assists. Always a great night when Tommy screams into the microphone, “THIS IS STUPID”. Pavlovic played 7 minutes, airballed a three and let a rebound through his legs and wasn’t seen again. Stiemsma played 2 minutes and had 2 points, 1 block, and 1 forced travel.

Kobe comes to Boston this week as the Celtics take on the Lakers Thursday at 8:00 PM.

The Celts (13-10) take on the Bobcats (3-21) tonight at the Garden. Completely turning it around this season, the Celtics are 8-2 in their last 10 games and are currently riding a 4 game win streak. Charlotte, on the other hand, have lost 11 straight. At this point, 48 year old majority owner Michael Jordan should consider putting himself into the lineup.

Paul Pierce is averaging 18.6 points per game after an extremely slow start for him (plus an injury). He is now only 9 points behind Larry Bird for the Celtics all-time scoring leaders.
1. John Havlicek 26,395
2. Larry Bird 21,791
3. Paul Pierce 21,410

The Celtics are now #11 in the power rankings, 5 spots better than last week. They are 2nd in points allowed per game with 86.7 ppg (the 76ers are the only team better with 86.5 ppg). However, we are only averaging 90.7 points per game.

After his 21 points against the Grizzlies, he finds himself only 9 points behind the Legend for 2nd place on the Celtics all-time leading scorers. Pierce has been a Celt his entire career, through the dreaded 18 game losing streak of 2006 and leading the Celts to the 2008 championship. It’s only fitting that he’ll hopefully pass the Legend at the Garden on Tuesday before the Boston faithful.

In honor of Paul, here’s his top five moments with the Celtics.

5.) Beginning of “The Truth”

Back in 2001, the Celtics played the Lakers and Paul had one of his best games in his short career. He scored 42 points against the eventual NBA champs as Boston lost. Shaquille O’Neal pulled a reporter aside and told him

“Take this down. My name is Shaquille O’Neal, and Paul Pierce is the [expletive] truth. Quote me on that, and don’t take nothing out. I knew he could play, but I didn’t know he could play like this. Paul Pierce is the truth”

And that was the beginning of The Truth.

4.) First game back from being stabbed

Paul’s life was in danger after he was stabbed 11 times September 25, 2000 in a nightclub. His life was saved by his then teammate Tony Battie. Luckily, paul was wearing a heavy leather jacket. This stopped the knife from hitting any key internal organs. Not only did the Truth start the first game of the season on October 31st, he played in all 82 games that year and led the team in scoring with 25.3 points per game.

3.) 21 Point 4th Quarter Comeback 2002 Playoffs

After getting ripped to shreds by Antoine Walker before the fourth quarter, which in itself is hilarious. Paul comes out and scores 19 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and led the Celts to victory over the Nets after being down 26 at one point in the second half and 21 to start the fourth quarter. Pierce was dominant, getting to rim at will on a young Richard Jefferson. This was the biggest comeback in NBA history in the playoffs. This whole fourth quarter comeback is on YouTube and is almost a must watch for any diehard Celtics fan.

2.) Pierce and Lebron Battle in 2008 Playoffs

Hands down one of my favorite games of all time. Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals and it was Paul Pierce and Lebron James just going at it. Bucket after bucket the game went back and forth. Pierce ended up finishing up with 41 points and Lebron ended the game with 45 and the big L. Most underrated part of the game was the big shot that PJ Brown had at the end of the game to put the Celtics up by three. People forget how much Brown provided at the end of the year with the clutch shooting and the great post defense. He would be huge on the team this year.

1.) 2008 NBA Championship

In the first game of the series Paul was injured and had to be carried off the court and wheelchaired into the locker room. I remember thinking that we were done. There was no way we could stay with the Lakers if Paul was out. A few minutes later to a roaring crowd, The Truth comes back and hits two straight threes to regain the lead and help take game 1 of the series. Paul was named NBA Finals MVP after they won the series 4-2. He averaged 21.8 points, 6.3 assists, and 4.5 rebounds. He also played great defense on Kobe throughout the series and kept him under control.

Great time to start writing about the Celtics on the blog as our guys have won their last four games in a row and seven out of the last eight. The Celts finished off the week with a 98-80 win over the Grizzlies. It was a game that the Celts had no trouble with as the Grizzlies have been hit pretty hard by injuries over the course of the year. While the Grizzlies had been picked to be a surprise contender in the Western Conference, losing big men Darrell Arthur (Achilles-Season ending) and Zack Randolph (Torn MCL – Back Early March) put a major dent into their team and they have struggled to stay around .500. On top of those two, former Celtics defensive stopper Tony Allen missed the game with a sore hip and knee.

The Celts looked great though. Rondo in his second game back was his usual self, while he only had 5 points, he had 14 dimes. Jujuan Johnson looks like he’s going to be stealing most of Stiemsma’s minutes from here on out as he got 22 minutes tonight and responded with an efficient 10 points on 5-8 shooting. Kevin Garnett had another 3-pointer to get his season tally to 3-3, as he posted 24-9. After the game KG was questioned about his ability to shoot the threes, he told people to stop being surprised.

“When I walk around the streets, y’all stop acting shocked I can shoot threes. Everybody in Boston, everybody in the world, everybody in Minnesota, LA, wherever I’m at; Concord, Lexington, Burlington. I can shoot threes, OK? Let that go.”

But the big story of the day is Paul Pierce. The Truth had another great all-around game as he posted 21-6-6. The big turnaround in the Celtics season has been Pierce getting in shape. When he’s playing well getting to the line, hitting his open threes, and keeping the ball moving the Celts look unstoppable. Once he started to get his game legs underneath him the Celts have been on a tear. After his 21 points against the Grizzlies, he finds himself only 9 points behind the Legend for 2nd place on the Celtics all-time leading scorers. Look for another article on the Truth’s greatest five moments as a Celt later on today.